Wisconsin residents call out for energy deregulation laws

With every electricity rate increase that occurs in Wisconsin, utility customers often express dissatisfaction with their service, and now, as the price of energy continues to rise, many are asking why the state has not implemented energy deregulation laws that are found in other states.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, some business owners and residential ratepayers see the current system as a way for state utilities to maintain total control over the energy market.

"We are tired of being told we have to pay more for our electricity from them. They are a monopoly, and I cannot purchase my electricity from anyone else," Bob Wincek of New Berlin recently wrote in a letter to state regulators about an impending electricity rate increase.

The Retail Energy Supply Association is also weighing in on the debate, and earlier in September asked state regulators to revisit the issue of rising energy prices, and how this can be offset by energy deregulation laws.

If Wisconsin did introduce energy deregulation laws, it would join the ranks of Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio, all of which have fostered a healthy competitive energy market through such laws.